Time to read: 2 mins & 41 seconds — 538 words. Written by Joseph Pack.
Improve your sleep, improve your ADHD.
Simplistic, but true.
Aside from the scientific proof that quality sleep improves almost everything in our lives, my ADHD symptoms are significantly worse when I sleep poorly.
From 18 to 26 I slept appallingly.
If I got 5 hours a night, that was fantastic.
3 hours was more common.
I woke up with a throbbing jaw every morning. It wasn't until my then girlfriend informed me that my teeth were chattering like a naked person on a frozen lake.
On 11th August 2016 it became apparent why they were chattering. I woke up in hospital after suffering 5 seizures in the night.
The seizures were the result of chronic stress, overwork and self-medication (caffeine, alcohol, etc.).
Aside from my wedding day and the birth of my kids, I consider that date as the most important in my life. It forced me to make a transformational shift.
One of those transformations was improving my sleep.
To show how potent that transformation has been, here's what my life was like before and after 2016:
Pre-2016:
Routinely sleeping 3 hours a night, 5 at best.
Drinking 10x coffees a day (self-medicating)
Drinking beer or wine most nights (bingeing at the weekend)
Little exercise
Late meals (9pm ish)
Poor diet (lots of fast food, not enough nutrients)
Nowhere near enough water
Working 12 hours a day (minimum)
Watching TV late at night
Watching Netflix on my laptop in bed until the early hours
Scrolling through social media in bed
I was abusing myself — stressed out of my mind from running a small business.
Luckily all I suffered were seizures. I dread to think of the cardiovascular disease that's rife in workaholics.
After the seizures, I went to stay at my Mum's house in the countryside. I slept 12 hours a day. My brain and body were burned out.
As I recovered I told myself that I had to make massive lifestyle changes.
Which I did.
Today
I regularly sleep 8 hours.
Only interrupted occasionally by our 3-year old son.
Here are the massive changes I've made:
No TV or screens within 1.5 hours of bedtime.
Read fiction books (paper, not on iPad)
Audiobooks occasionally (careful not to look at screen too much)
No coffee at all — none since 2016
Lots of water
Camomile tea in the evening
Early dinner (around 6pm)
30-minute walk during the day
Yoga in the evening (Hatha Yoga specifically)
Burpees 4x per week
These earplugs are a game changer.
I also wear these nose strips that open up my airways and allow me to breathe through my nose during sleep.
These strips are clinically proven to improve sleep quality. They work, trust me.
The interesting thing about all of the points above — they'll improve your ADHD symptoms AND your sleep.
It's a double whammy.
So, how do you get started?
Steps to improve your sleep
Start with two from the list above and add more later.
The two I recommend:
No caffeine
No screens before bed
Also, buy some nasal strips. They're cheap from Amazon and will improve your sleep immediately.
After that, continue adding more changes.
Self-pacing is essential. If you try to do them all at once you will fail.
My recommendation is to add something like yoga in the evening. It will workout your body without increasing your heart rate too much.
If the above feels impossible, don't despair. It's easier than you think.
If there's something very specific about your sleep issues that I've not mentioned above, feel free to reply to this email and we can talk it through.
Or, if you want help improving your sleep (amongst other challenges ADHD imposes on your life) consider applying for 1:1 coaching with me.
To apply, please click the button below.
I am happy to accept clients with Access to Work funding.